About Reggaeton
Class Description:
Reggaeton is a hybrid dance form built from salsa, dancehall, and hip-hop influences. It reflects the musical and cultural journey of Jamaican migrants across the Caribbean (especially Puerto Rico, which is credited with creating 'mainstream' reggaeton) towards Latin American and the United States. Reggaeton blends Jamaican music influences of reggae and dancehall with those of Latin America, such as bomba and plena, as well as that of hip hop. Reggaeton focuses on strong and sensual hip movements (commonly known as dancing 'perreo') and often incorporates Hip-Hop grooves and Latin dance technique. In this class, students will learn choreography to gain an understanding of the genre and its associated terminology. See instructor IG to view choreography style.
Suggested Footwear:
Sneakers
Suggested Experience Needed:
6 months of experience recommended
Related Classes:
K-Pop, Bollywood Funk, Hip-Hop, Salsa, Bachata
Meet Sara
Instagram: @coqui.sf
Sara is a choreographer, teacher, and dancer born and raised in San Francisco. She started her professional hip-hop career at sixteen, dancing with Culture Shock S.F. and L.A. and guest performing with independent artists throughout the Bay Area. While earning her dance degree at Loyola Marymount University, Sara expanded her training to include ballet, modern / contemporary, and dunham technique, and also began a focused re-engagement with salsa and other Latin dances connected to her Puerto Rican heritage. It was during this time that Sara truly honed in on her passion for choreography and teaching, and the ways in which the intelligence of different dance techniques could cross pollinate for the benefit of the artist. Sara has performed alongside notable hip-hop artists Allan Frias and Jesse Lee Santos, and has done commercial work with musical groups Blue Boy and Spanish Fly. Locally Sara has performed and presented work at Dance Mission Theater and ODC, and is blest to have trained with exceptional artists across disciplines including Janice Garrett (modern), Robin Dekkers (ballet), Brandi Chun (jazz funk), Pat Cruz (hip-hop) and others. Most recently, Sara choreographed the Center Repertory Company’s sold out Spring 2023 musical production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights and continues to teach a variety of dance forms around the Bay Area.
Sara strongly believes in the joy of dance, and is dedicated to fostering a safe and playful space where students can work on sound dance technique while feeling motivated to grow. When Sara is not in the studio teaching or choreographing, she is experimenting with dance for film, and running her online dance merchandise store ObjectsForArts. Besides dance, Sara is an ardent, 20-year practitioner of Iyengar yoga, and a strong believer in massages and chocolate.